Anxiety is not a sign of sickness, a weakness of the mind, or an error for which we should always seek a medical solution. It is mostly a hugely reasonable and sensitive response to the genuine strangeness, terror, uncertainty, and riskiness of existence. . First I started the School of Life as an audiobook, but then I realize I want to underline a lot of sentences so switched to the Kindle edition and started reading from the beginning. After a couple of pages, I realized I want to take notes while underlying the sentences along with going and coming back between pages so the e-book wasn’t good enough either and bought the physical book. I restarted all over again and play the audiobook while I was reading. Finally, I was not only reading and feeding my eyes but also listening so feeding my ears as if satisfying as many senses as possible. That’s how much I loved it. . It’s deeply poignant that we should expend so much effort on trying to look strong before the world when, all the while, it’s really only ever the revelation of the somewhat embarrassing, sad, melancholy, and anxious bits of us that renders us endearing to others and transforms strangers into friends.

I have so much trouble to read something like this, where there is no studies examples or just enough examples. Launguage is overcomplicated for no apperent reason and is not fluid wich makes it hard to read. It has some gripping ideas, but I had trouble to trust the autor for some reasons. Defenitively not a bad read, just not for me.

I think most humans on this planet would benefit from reading this book. It's beautiful, concise, wise, universal and deeply understanding.

This book leaves the usual "warm and fuzzies" of self-help / pop psychology firmly behind and addresses the realities of life, relationships, growing older, etc. etc. I found myself nodding my head, often with mouth gaping in astonishment. Definitely something for those longer in tooth - I just don't thing the youth will get it until they've got it and then it's almost too late.

** spoiler alert ** Doubting between giving this 3 or 4 stars. This book is, by all means, necessary and eye-opening. Living in a society where such large emphasis has been put on perfection, this book details precisely the opposite - that life is full of grief, sadness, anger, doubts, confusion and all other emotions we are not meant to feel, or let alone speak of. And that this isn’t particularly good or bad, it just is. By merely accepting this, we might be able to weather whatever life throws at us a little better. However what troubled me was that it was, at times, seemingly random. I missed a certain flow in the writing and it wasn’t always clear why certain things were brought forward. The chapter about work was another part of the book which was troublesome to me. As stated, our current economic system is very effective and efficient in meeting our primary needs, such as food, water, heat etc. But it’s not even close to fulfil our more sophisticated yet essential needs, like friendship and fulfilment. What the book states is that in order to sustain both growth and fulfilment of these higher needs, we should deepen our current capitalist system in a way that it would satisfy these needs. Maybe I’m thinking too practical about a philosophical book, but how would one imagine the market providing us friendship? Or love? (Or maybe is it the fact that the School of Life is actually trying to provide the satisfaction of these higher needs through a capitalist system, i.e. offering courses to emotionally educate us for $$$) These - in my opinion - flaws should however not put you off from picking up this book because it’s message - that we’ve had to withstand life without being able to build upon the emotional wisdom of others and emotionally educating ourselves and others could be a great way to alleviate a tiny bit of out sorrows - is essential.